Romana was a young girl when her family told her she was getting married. This is not unusual in Bangladesh; according to UNICEF, nearly two-thirds of girls are married before the age of 18 and more than a quarter of …
Though it may not seem obvious, access to clean energy and women’s empowerment especially in the developing world are intrinsically linked. Collecting firewood, for example, can make a woman or girl vulnerable to attack while she’s outside her village searching. …
Imagine your life if you were married at 15, against your will, to an abusive husband. It’s the same for almost all the women you know. Your education came to an abrupt end once you were married, and you’re not …
Not long after I arrived in Bangladesh, something very mundane happened to me that just happened to shatter my perspective. I was walking home, holding onto the remains of my lunch and naively expecting to encounter a rubbish bin along …
I put my book down and went to make another cup of tea. I never thought that those few steps to the kitchen would be the start of a journey towards creating a sustainable online fashion store called VV Vintage. …
Last month I highlighted in my blog how I had learnt from colleagues about the huge waste of food caused by ‘post-harvest’ losses. Up to 30% of food, even in countries with high rates of undernutrition can be lost between …
Meena Lama, a bright 34 year old lady from Taplejung, Eastern Nepal, is an entrepreneur. Three months ago, Meena qualified for a loan of $250 from a local financial institution, founded and managed by women, to start a poultry farm …
Hands up who thought slavery and the slave trade was abolished years ago? Perhaps even centuries ago? In fact, despite being illegal in almost every country on earth, slavery exists nearly everywhere, and in staggering numbers. The International Labour Organisation estimates …
We spent our last few weeks in Afjalpur making sure we had met all of the targets laid out in our day-to-day plan and compiling a handover folder so that the next ICS volunteers know every detail of the work …
Today I write this blog as Chief Executive of JITA - a globally groundbreaking Non-Governmental Organisation/private sector hybrid. However, my title wasn't always so business-like. I used to work for CARE International, in charge of Bangladesh's Rural Sales Programme (RSP). …
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